Pres. Obama, Romney to meet for private lunch

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Pres. Obama, Romney to meet for private lunch

(CNN) – President Barack Obama and his former rival Mitt Romney will meet Thursday for their first get-together since the November 6 election, according to a statement from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

“On Thursday, Governor Romney will have a private lunch at the White House with President Obama in the Private Dining Room,” Carney wrote. “It will be the first opportunity they have had to visit since the election. There will be no press coverage of the meeting.”

In his acceptance speech on election night, Obama congratulated Romney on his campaign, and said he was looking forward “to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.”

And at his first post-election press conference, held November 14, Obama said his goal was to set a meeting before the end of the year.

“There are certain aspects of Governor Romney’s record and his ideas that I think could be very helpful,” he said, specifically citing Romney’s leadership of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games.

Romney has stayed out of the spotlight since his Election Night remarks in Boston. He was spotted taking in the latest installment of the “Twilight” movie franchise with his family, and on Thanksgiving shared a photo with his wife Ann on his official Facebook page.

While in Washington, Romney will also meet with his former running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, a senior adviser to the former GOP nominee told CNN Wednesday.